Interpretation

"Everybody has his own interpretation of a painting he sees..." Francis Bacon

Have you on a nice sunny bright day, looked up in the sky and have seen a whole world of moving and ever changing images of fluffy clouds? I think we all have. I also think that the images we recognize in them is unique to us. If we point out the particular cloud that looks like something to our companion, unless we describe it to them, they won't see it and even if they do, it will brings out a different feeling/association in them.

Every image, thought and idea we experience is a result of our interpretation, based on our individual richness and is unique to us.

The same applies to experiencing art . Art puts us in touch with our soul and mirrors our inner world. In my art, I strive to bringing out the spirit rather than giving a detailed description of an object. When there is not much detail in the artwork, just the essence, the energy, it leaves more room for interpretation. I came to believe from the comments, that it allows the viewer to more personalize it and connect with it.

I have witnessed this very profoundly last winter at my show of model pencil drawings. At the opening reception, my guests were individually approaching me and expressing their fondness/connection to a particular drawing. What was interesting was that there wasn't a common, as critics would call “more successful” drawing, that most of them appreciated, but they all had their own favourite. As I am dealing with human emotions in my drawings, each person could identify with that unique emotion.

Now where does this put the art critiques, if art appreciation is so unique to an individual?

"Life is like art - it is all about interpretation." Robert Holden